February 2018. There are reports on the Events page of the meetings held last year with government departments in London and Belfast, along with their responses to our recommendations.

Our Mission

The remit of the National Autism Project is very broad; it will encompass education, social care, community, housing, employment, societal perception and understanding, healthcare and biological/medical research.

OUR EVENTS

OUR PROGRESS

Welcome to the home page of the National Autism Project. We are committed to addressing the needs of autistic people through better investment, better research, better practice leading to better lives for those affected.

What is the National Autism Project?

The National Autism Project (NAP) is a new initiative supported by The Shirley Foundation. Its aim is to provide authoritative recommendations on autism research and practice which have demonstrable effectiveness in benefiting autistic people and their communities. The National Autism Project intends to increase substantially the proportion of national resource devoted to research and intervention in the field of ASD.

How will it achieve its goals?

The unique aspect of NAP is our effort to analyse the economic benefits, actual and potential, of research and practice across the range from basic biomedical research to social issues like housing and employment, and existential ones around wellbeing. The economic cost-benefit analysis will be based on an evaluation by a team at the London School of Economics. Their work will be helped and guided by a large number of experts recruited to the project, including those with autism, whose opinions will be crucial in filling gaps in our knowledge and ensuring that our recommendations are as well-informed as possible.
We intend to publish an expert report in late summer 2016 which will be the basis of a campaign to bring our recommendations to the attention of funders, both government and charities.
The remit of the National Autism Project is very broad; it will encompass education, social care, community care, housing, employment, societal perception and understanding, healthcare and biological/medical research.